Nexuiz in My Meditative State

[-z-]

AnArKiSt sent me a pm inquiring about the meditative state I claim to go in while playing Nexuiz. He suggested rather than replying to his pm, I could make a post so if anyone else is interested they too would be able to read what I have to say.

When I first started playing Nexuiz, there were so many unknowns. The thrills would quickly find me as intense situations arose quicker than I could have ever anticipated never playing what is referred to as a "twitch FPS" by some. Walking at 400 quake units/s, bunny hopping and lasering to keep a constant speed of ~double to quadruple that depending on your skill which averages out to between 35-55 mph.

When you mind doesn't know what to filter, the intensity can cause your brain to release adrenaline and raise your heart-rate. For me, this is what got me addicted, chasing this adrenaline rush. However, as you begin to understand more about the game and your mind learns to filter more and more. I play mostly CTF, so this logic will pertain mostly to CTF but you can apply it to other gametypes with a little creative thinking. As I began to simplify situations into item to item or point to point advancement of my enemy while keeping track of the situation of my closest teammates and the state of both flags, these once rather large and complicated situations become less and less intimidating. This however, also led to a reduction in the occurrence of the adrenaline rushes which may seem like a negative but it's really a positive in disguise.

No longer having the overload that was responsible for the initial adrenaline rushes, I was able to free my mind and begin to rise above my previous limitations that kept me on par with average players. Having a larger understanding of the match and what is required of me in relevance to the team, I began to see things differently. Holding in my mind a select bit of information about myself in relation to the team:

1) Where am I (duh)
2) Where are the flags?
3) What does the team need me to do now?
4) How fast do I need to get there
5) How much health / armor do I have and how much can I afford to lose in exchange for speed or a firefight
6) What weapons do I have?

I believe GreEn mArine was the person I saw mention that "you do not need to fight every battle". In fact it's sometimes best to outrun your enemy. [u][b]ESPECIALLY[/b][/u] when you have the flag. Evasion tactics are every bit as important as advancement.

Keeping these things in mind, watch the following video:



You will notice how I use the item to item based advancement of my enemy and take the idea of understanding forces to the next level with the quad laser back to my base. If I had over thought this, I would have die but as you can tell by my flow prior to this maneuver (notably the laser to the proper height of the nex), I was "in the zone".

The idea of this so called meditative state is to get into the flow or DANCE. This really comes down to good choreography, building your confidence with smooth execution of your ideas and keeping your heart rate down while not thinking too much about the next move but FEELING what you need to do next.

Often times (nearing always), I play with music in the background which usually helps my mind stay focused... though the in game sounds are certainly important as well ... but that's a topic for another discussion.

To summarize, the meditative state is about getting into a flow and as you begin to work with other players who share similar thought patterns, you begin to rise to levels you never knew existed. I've been playing Nexuiz for ~2 years and I still haven't reached the limits and probably never will... anyone who thinks they have... are only limiting themselves as I've said before a true ninja is always learning. Remember to make the big problems smaller and KEEP YOUR HEART RATE DOWN!! When you let a little mixup throw your off your game, you go into a funk and will continue to make things worse. Stay calm, move forward from the point of your mistake and try to channel your energy in a way that keeps things positive and brings you back to the flow.

[Mirio]

Nice topic.

(03-16-2009 11:12 AM)-z- Wrote:  I've been playing Nexuiz for ~2 years and I still haven't reached the limits and probably never will... anyone who thinks they have... are only limiting themselves as I've said before a true ninja is always learning.

Yeah , that why i love Nexuiz because there is always something new.. playing since '06 :)

btw i wouldn't have attack like this :) Every player is an individual, other tactics,laser jump technique and so on, but in CTF you have to be a team! Greens statement is pretty important in my opinion!

[-z-]

I stressed the fact that you will begin to work with others in this way... the video example is a 2v1 but it's a good simplified example of what I'm talking about.

[AnArKiSt]

Thank you, -z-!
The video is not working for me though, I see a white box where it is supposed to be.

[grasshopper]

I thought that i may be the only one who gets the adrenaline rush . Dusty is where i get it most or facing worlds . simple because when i do get the flag those 2 maps require a different kind of return . on one hand you have to fight your way through the crowd with twists and turns while trying to keep speed and health up . on the other you have to be random to avoid 3 -4 nex campers . I have found that when this happens its usually in the first or second map at the start of my play time . And this usually doesnt help my strategy . but after a few maps i sink into that zone sometimes and off i go . Sometimes ending maps as high scorer in some area or another . I havent really tried to listen to music and apply my movement as a dance in a map yet , but i should try . It makes sense because i am music oriented anyway and i should let the music dictate what im doing in game .
This is an interesting post . because if you can get that meditative state going in game , what could that do in real life ? Nexuiz really has some of the most in depth people i have seen so dedicated to the game and all areas concerning it . this is why we love it . there is soo much to learn other than the latest trick jump or maneuver .
I chose the name Grasshopper from the Kung-Fu TV series that ran years ago . I was a little kid then and ddnt understand much but on some level it made sense . never stop learning . the master is always the student and thats what makes him master .

Wacthing the video you can clearly see that -z- is always doing more than one thing at a time .
defending his offensive attack . defending his enemy ammo pickups . using enviornment for security . and always taking advantage .

[-z-]

The important thing is to learn how to channel the adrenaline and keep your heart rate down. Otherwise this gift becomes a punishment.

I have related things I've learn in game to my physical life and it has helped me. I have discussed the patterns of thought with other avid players and we have agreed on similar points.

[Sepelio]

Yeah I used to experience the same things as -z- has described. Some days I play better than others in CTF as well. My aggressiveness and pace often varies with what music I'm listening to. Franco has seen this first hand when I've been practicing with him.

I find that I play "better" with faster/heavier music. If I'm defending on a map I'm probably listening to something far more chilled out.

[-z-]

I tend to tune into vocal trance and goa-psy trance on [url]www.di.fm[/url] --- though the commericals instantly break me of my meditative state and make me EXTREMELY angry. I have to fight very hard to keep my concentration and if it's too severe, I've thrown off my headphones or muted my sound.

[vbraun]

I'm going to pick out what I consider the most important thing.

Staying calm is essential for performing in any medium. You don't do well on tests in school if you're freaked out that you'll forget something. You don't do well in auditions of any kind if you're afraid you'll forget something. You don't give a decent speech if you're worried about what people will think of you. You're not going to impress the ladies if you're freaked out. You won't aim well if you're worried about winning a match.

I did it backwards of -z-; I learned this from previous experiences (mostly auditions for band stuff) and realized that this works for [i]everything[/i]. The easy part is recognizing; the hard part is applying.

I've found a few methods for staying calm that work well:

1. Don't Care.
If you don't care about the outcome of what you're doing, you won't be freaked out about it and will then be calm. If you can convince yourself that things don't matter, you naturally won't be worried any more. I've employed this strategy on basically every test for the past many years in school. I've done well (relatively speaking) on just about every test. This is tricky because, in the end, I do sort of care how I do. It's all about convincing yourself at the moment.

2. Have Fun.
This one is probably applies most to gaming. If you're really having fun, you're already sitting back comfortably fragging away, not giving a damn about anything else. There will be times when things frustrate you. This happens. Figure out a way to move on. Generally, not taking things very seriously will prevent frustration. Back when I was still active (:/), there was a quake player that joined the community for a while named machine. He was pretty good. He didn't seem to take our duals seriously and it pissed me off to no end. As a result, I couldn't win. A few weeks later, after taking a step back and readjusting myself, I started having fun and started winning.

What I really wanted to say with this post is this:
The best players have the most fun when they play. They only become good because they enjoy playing a ton. As a result, they start playing a ton. And after playing a ton, you can get very good. After getting very good, they start having more fun. An endless cycle to perfection. If you find yourself not having fun, you're likely wasting your time.

In the spirit of Randy Pausch, this is a head-fake. This really isn't a post about playing Nexuiz.

[size=xx-small]Disclaimer: I have been known to write things that I think are pretty profound and important that make no sense to others. So, if this doesn't make sense, it's probably just me.[/size]

[grasshopper]

No it makes sense . in a nutshell i have fun playing . and when i dont i give nexuiz a break . so all in all i might actually be really good one day . i do see advancements already .